Lovebirds in their 80s marry following chance supermarket meeting

It turns out Valentine's Day has some competition for the most romantic day of the year, as Seven Sharp's Tim Wilson found out when investigating the tale of two Kiwi octogenarians that found love in an unlikely place.

The setting for this surprising tale of romance was the humble supermarket one lonely Easter Sunday.

The chance encounter would forever change the lives of 83-year-old Sylvia and 85-year-old Ivan.

Sylvia is a widow who was feeling the weight of her years, and her solitude.

"It was Easter, and I was on my own. I had no plans to go to anybody," she said.

Sylvia was waiting at the checkout when she noticed a man in the line behind her.

"This man was standing behind me grumbling. And I turned around with my hand on my hip to say 'What's your problem mate?' And it was Ivan Still."

The pair hadn't been together since primary school 75 years ago, but they both still recognised each other.

They struck up a conversation and then went for a coffee date that lasted three hours.

"When he left me, he kissed me on the lips! I have never ever let men kiss me on the lips since I got married 60 years ago. But he did, and I thought 'hell's bells what's happening here?'," Sylvia said.

The confident manoeuvre has led to a happy ending, the two lovebirds getting married just before Christmas last year.

Sylvia and Ivan are living proof that sometimes the best things are worth waiting for.
Source: Seven Sharp

An American woman living in New Zealand who runs workshops to help people feel positive about their own bodies believes images of so-called perfect women's bodies have gripped the world.

Sonya Renee Taylor, founder of the movement The Body is Not An Apology, says she's "unapologetically fat" but "the word itself doesn't have negativity in it".

Ms Taylor told TVNZ1's Seven Sharp that magazine images of so-called perfection "are telling you something about what women should be, what sort of bodies are valuable".

"Everything from their hands to their body size, race or gender, I think we have so many messages every single day that tell us that something is wrong with us," she said.

The black American woman shaved her head after being teased at school because tufts of her hair were falling out.

She addressed a group of women in New Plymouth, giving them her take on unapologetic self love.

"As soon as we get clear that we are divine and powerful and bad ass, just as we are, we have a whole different way of moving through the world," she said.

But if women don't see themselves that way, "it's like picking a husband you hate and then never getting divorced, which some people do. That's not an unusual action, but it is a miserable one".

Ms Taylor said her movement today is "a digital magazine and education platform, and we do workshops for thousands of people around the world".

Asked if she has found many differences between New Zealand and the United States, she said: "I found that a lot of the issues in Aotearoa are much more inward focused, when I think about issues of suicide and the issues of domestic violence".

"Why are young people in New Zealand killing themselves?" she asked at her workshop.

"That's not happenstance. It's part of a larger system that tells you that you're not valuable."

As well as women's groups, Ms Taylor wants to visit schools to say few words that for some will make all the difference.

"You have always been beautiful," is her message.

Sonya Renee Taylor believes if you get that right, everything else will fall into place.
Source: Seven Sharp